How many years can the French live while remaining independent? A recent study by the DREES (Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics), based on European data, provides an answer. Beyond life expectancy, it is interested in the number of years that we can hope to live without disability, that is to say without major difficulty in everyday activities.
After age 64, how many years can we expect to live independently?
In France, a 64-year-old woman can hope to live another 13 years without disability, according to DREES. In other words, she should be able to continue to move around, dress herself, cook or do her shopping without regular assistance. This is around two and a half years more than the European Union average, which places French women in 5th place in Europe.
For men, life expectancy without disability reaches 10.5 years from age 64. Here again, France is doing better than the European average, with a gain of one year and four months, which puts it in 7th place in the ranking.
In practice, a woman who retires at age 64 can therefore hope to remain independent until around age 77. For a man, this period extends on average until 74 or 75 years old.
The French now spend more than half of their retirement without disability
The good news is that this duration is increasing. Between 2008 and 2023, the share of years lived without disability after age 65 increased from 44.7% to 50.8% among women, and from 47.7% to 52.9% among men.
The regional daily Charente Libre summarizes this development in one sentence: “More than one in two French people can hope to live half of their end of life without disability.”
The health crisis, however, brought this to a halt. After stability in 2020, the DREES observes an increase in 2021, followed by a decline in 2022. In 2023, the indicators return to their pre-pandemic level. Proof that life expectancy without disability remains sensitive to major health crises, but also to living conditions and access to care.
Figures that give a trend, not a destiny
These results provide a better understanding of the overall health status of the population, but they do not predict the future of each individual. Age, chronic illnesses, physical activity, diet and even working conditions strongly influence the maintenance of autonomy. These data therefore constitute above all a statistical benchmark, and not an individual forecast.